UPDATE 2-Strayer, Capella dispute DoE data on loan repayment

* Cos say DoE data differs significantly from own analysis

* Cos say they still qualify for federal aid

* Strayer, Capella shares fall in premarket trade (Recasts throughout; adds comments from Capella, Apollo)

Aug 16 (Reuters) - Strayer Education Inc (STRA.O) and Capella Education (CPLA.O) questioned the U.S. Department of Education's findings on loan repayment rates regarding the proposed gainful employment regulation, and said their programs still qualify for federal aid for students.

Strayer said the data released by the DoE on Strayer University was significantly at odds with its own analysis.

"This discrepancy has significant operational, financial, and public policy implications, and we would like to address it immediately," Strayer said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

On Friday, the DoE released data on estimated student loan repayment rates of some for-profit schools, as part of a drive to tighten oversight of the industry. [ID:nN13232515]

The schools have to meet a proposed federal threshold of 45 percent repayment to be fully eligible for federal aid.

Strayer University averaged in the low twenties, placing it in the ineligible zone by that metric.

Capella, which the DoE said has a 40 percent repayment rate, concurred with Strayer and said its programs would continue to qualify for federal student aid participation and have a repayment rate of over 45 percent.

Both the companies said they will reach out to the DoE to find out the data and methodology used in its calculation of the repayments rates.

According to data released on Friday, different locations of peer DeVry Inc's (DV.N) DeVry University averaged around 40 percent, while Washington Post Co's (WPO.N) Kaplan programs and Corinthian Colleges' (COCO.O) Everest colleges and institutes averaged in the low twenties.

Shares of Arlington, Virginia-based Strayer were trading down 5 percent at $189.90 before the bell. The shares, which closed at $200.01 Friday on Nasdaq, have fallen about 31 percent since their lifetime high in April.

Capella shares were down about 1 percent at $69.24. They closed at $70.20 on Nasdaq. Corinthian Colleges shares were down about 9 percent at 6.08.

The stocks have been impacted due to the uncertainty regarding the proposed gainful employment regulation.

Separately, sector bellwether Apollo Group (APOL.O) said its University of Phoenix has received a letter from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requiring it to provide some information and evidence of its compliance with HLC accreditation standards.

"The letter indicates that if the response by University of Phoenix is unsatisfactory, HLC may impose additional monitoring or sanctions at its meeting in November 2010," Apollo said in a regulatory filing.

The HLC letter relates to an investigation on for-profit schools' enrollment and recruitment practices.

Apollo shares were up 2 percent at $39.80 in premarket trade. (Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi and Megha Mandavia in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel)